


Ten Little Indians

by Nope



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-12-10
Updated: 2003-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:34:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25784479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nope/pseuds/Nope
Summary: One by one they died.





	Ten Little Indians

James dies fighting for his family, with their names flash-frozen on his lips, and Lily falls too, moments later, though neither Harry nor Voldemort die then.

Sirius, who had always followed his friend, dies fighting for James' family too, though his last thought is not of Harry but of his own, long-since denied relatives.

Remus, who always came along in the end, follows their lead, leaping in front of Harry and ripping a hole in the Deatheater defence before he is brought down by silver nets and knives. The wolf thinks of blood, black in moonlight; Remus thinks of Sirius and lunges, biting, onto the blades.

Cedric's last living thought is of how small Harry looks, and he barely hears the order that lays him low. Dead, he fades with the crowd, thinking only of Voldemort and vengeance.

Cho dies hard, holding Ravenclaw tower long after even everyone else has fled. Robes cut down to rags, hair flying freely around her, war paint blood on her face, her breasts, her thighs, She stands on the dead to fight the rest, wand in one hand and Godric's sword in the other, and falls only when Hogwarts falls, thinking red thoughts, screaming defiance. Filch, having just enough magic of his own to deactivate the castle's structural charms, bringing it tumbling down, escapes intact through the tunnels.

Tom, remembering his father, dies twice: the first as a sacrifice to his own ambition; the second on the broken tooth of a serpent. Voldemort survives both without reflection, already moving on to the larger game, and when he dies, he does so thinking himself triumphant and far too quick even for surprise.

Harry, silent and unthinking, snaps Voldemort's neck with his bare hands, falls himself, and does not move again; he ends the lines of Potter and Riddle, Slytherin and Gryffindor in that single stroke. Neville closes his eyes, lowers his wand, but does not weep. They are hidden, wreathed in smoke. It begins to rain.

Ron is killed before Harry, though he dies afterwards, killed too late to prevent his plan being put into action. His wounds shallow, but many, Ron dies slow but almost comfortable, too numb for pain. He lasts just long enough to learn of their triumphs and not their tragedies; dies thinking sunny thoughts of old friends, of enemies redeemed, of new hopes and of a better, brighter future.

Peter, in whom secrets were confided and who betrayed all of them in the end, and who, if nothing else, was at least a good pet, dies peacefully in his sleep, curled up on Ron's chest against one cold hand.


End file.
